Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Kids, Heat and Cars - can the message get any clearer? YES

Each summer
we hear the heartbreaking reports of young children dying as a result of being left in hot
cars. Approximately 37 children die this way in the US every year – 1 every 10days.

The media
doesn’t shy away from alerting us, nor is there a shortage of public health
messages from health and safety agencies. BTW give a shout out to states like
Tennessee that have just passed legislation that’s allows a person to smash a
window or forcibly enter a parked car in Tennessee without liability “if you
have “a good faith belief” the actions help a minor who will suffer “harm if
not immediately removed from the vehicle.”

Psychologists
and behaviorists tell us there are powerful factors, such as our daily habits
and distractions that likely make it possible for some adults to forget that
their child is in the car.

As always, I wanted to take a closer look at the actual language of the safety messages- what does it look like, sound like?

Here's what I found:

There were
good, clear messages... and then there were not so good messages.

A key culprit was Verbs Acting Badly

·Generally
we are more likely to notice, UNDERSTAND AND REMEMBER ACTIVE VERBS.We have a harder time with Passive Verbs.

Two key messages do not use active verbs and are likely harder to notice and understand, especially for those who don't read with confidence.

High profile agencies can help spread more understandable messages

State and
local public health and safety messages often come straight from Press Releases
from national organizations.So if the
language in these Press Releases is clear chances are those picking up the
messages will use the clear language too.

Here's language used by a premier transportation agency (NHTSA) in its

Notice, with just a few pen strokes the VERBS below can go from passive to active – resulting in more understandable messages.

Can you find the VERBS ACTING BADLY?

Focus on Summer Safety for Kids

•Never leave a child alone in
a car.

•Look before you lock: Make a
habit of looking in the vehicle – front and back – before locking the door and
walking away.

•Remember your precious
cargo: Do things that serve as a reminder that a child is in the vehicle, such
as placing a phone, purse or briefcase in the back seat to ensure no child is
accidentally left in the vehicle, or writing a note to indicate a child is in
the car seat.

•Act to save a child's life:
If you see a child alone in a vehicle on a warm day, immediately call 911.

•A child in distress due to
heat should be removed from the vehicle as quickly as possible and rapidly
cooled.

•Teach children that a
vehicle is not a play area, lock car doors and store keys out of a child's
reach.

What we're reading and tuning into

Disclaimer

What I post here is intended only as a forum to discuss ideas. Please be aware that referred to research or sources evolve over time so the documents referred to on this blog may be superseded by new information.

Oh, and BTW I use the following broad definition of Health Literacy:“A health literate person is able to use health concepts and information generatively—applying information to novel situations. This is critical to our efforts to prepare the public to react to complex public health emergencies.”(From invited paper presented by me - Surgeon General’s Report on Health Literacy, September 7 2006, Bethesda Maryland http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/healthliteracy/toc.html)